A Funeral Fit for a True Military Hero

On a beautifully-sunny California afternoon, in the confines of a silent worship hall, Dan Halloran got out of his pew, walked up to a photograph of his dad and reached out to touch it. After a moment, he moved to the lectern, pulled out a piece of paper, and took a deep breath.

"Many knew him as Hap. I knew him only as Dad, and my best friend," said Halloran. "Even when we didn’t agree, he always had my back."

Raymond Francis "Hap" Halloran was laid to rest in Menlo Park Friday afternoon at St. Raymond Catholic Church.  The former Air Force bombardier died June 7 at the age of 89.

About 100 well-wishers filled the pews of St. Raymond for the service. They may have been short on hair, but they were certainly long on memories.

Halloran was a WWII hero. Flying in a B-29 over Japan during the war, he'd been shot out of the air; when he reached the ground, he was tortured and beaten, placed in captivity as a prisoner of war, and displayed in a cage by the enemy for 67 days. In his memoirs, he states he would cry for relief.

Once freed, Halloran suffered post-traumatic stress disorder long before the debilitating illness had a fancy name.

Despite it all, Hap Halloran chose to forgive, though the demons in his mind never let him forget.

"The stories he told, they weren’t happy ones, I shall say, and he suffered terrible nightmares," said James Farrell. Farrell, a former B-29 airman himself, knew Hap, and came to the service to pay his respects.

Halloran struggled with PTSD and nightmares for nearly 40 years until he decided to visit Japan in 1985.

"I think it helped him heal," said Peggy Halloran, Hap's only daughter.

"I always admired him for the fact that he was able to reconcile the differences," said Farrell. "He certainly did a magnificent job as a goodwill ambassador."

Hap Halloran became internationally-famous for publicly forgiving and befriending his former captors. He met the pilot who shot him down and shook his hand; he played golf with former Japanese soldiers that held him captive.

"He faced his fears and saw the reality that Japanese people were kind, polite and respectful," said Peggy. "It helped heal the image of these people fighting with him, and beating him up."

"He realized that war makes demons out of people," continued Peggy. "And he also realized that the Japanese were doing the same thing the Americans were doing, which is what they thought was the right thing and fighting for their country."

"After he returned to Japan in 1985, I began to truly understand what he had gone through, in 1945," said Dan Halloran in the eulogy. "Even though he suffered from what I now know as PTSD, he made the best of life, always defining every day as a bonus day."

Forgiving his captors, Halloran embarked on an international speaking tour, relating his experiences to hushed audiences, talking about life lessons he'd learned. He spoke in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2002.

Halloran published a book in 1998 titled "Hap's War," a recounting of his days of anguish.

Peggy will remember her father as a strong, loving man who enjoyed spending time with his family by playing baseball together, going on fishing trips, and exploring.

"Dad was our weekend warrior," said Dan in the eulogy. "We always spent weekends with Dad."

The haunting sound of military taps resonated through the worship hall toward the end of the service. There was not a single cell phone interruption; it was not that kind of crowd.

Shortly thereafter, a Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Guard Team flag-folding ceremony was poignant; an American flag unfurled in front of the solemn congregation, re-folded, unfurled a second time, then folded 13 times, per tradition, symbolizing the original 13 colonies. The flag was presented to the family.

Raymond Francis "Hap" Halloran will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, with full military honors, likely sometime in October.

He is survived by his sons Dan, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Tim, of Brentwood, Calif., and daughter Peggy. Hap's wife Donna died in 1991.

Musician and guitarist Janet Childs performed an original song dedicated to Hap Halloran at the end of the service:

Fly Free

Fly free, my friend, fly free

On the wings of your destiny

Take the love from our hearts,

Fly free, my friend, fly free

Fly to your new life of spirit, reaching to the sky

The rhythm of the ocean, like a lullaby

Reminds us of your tenderness, your laughter and your love

Reminds us of your quiet strength, gentle as a dove

Fly home, my friend, fly home

You are not alone

We carry you in the harbor of our hearts

Fly home, my friend, fly home

Fly free, my friend, fly free

We hold your memory

You are never apart from our hearts

Fly free, my friend, fly free